Personally I don't as i've always found it to be not necessary.  People who know me well knows I like games, but they also don't know to the extent because i don't talk to most of my friends about video games.  Instead i talk about many other things, which is one reason I'm on gaming forums, so i can talk to people about one of my favorite hobbies.  But yeah what about you all?

Nope.. I don't know people in real life..

Heck yeah.

What better way to connect with people by saying I like eating mushrooms and jumping on turtles.

i do. but most people i know aren't as into games as me so its not very often. My friends know i liek games though

I've been crazy about games since I started gaming at 7 years of age. I'm still known to many as a serious gamer among my childhood friends and college. And now to those in my profession in the Telecoms sector. Some of them have asked why I haven't yet stepped into gaming industry despite such passion.

well, depends what a discussion i have and with whom. if someone asks me which hobbies i have and it's not a person who should hear "politics, reading about history and i love to jog" then yes, i say gaming is a big hobby, otherwise i say "politics, reading about history and i love to jog" lol

It's not something I advertise but it's also not something I'm ashamed of. Though I'd never actually use a word like "gamer" to describe myself, if the topic of video-games came up, I wouldn't hesitate to say that I play them on a regular basis.

People whine about CoD and the Wii a lot but I think both have done an excellent job of reducing the stigma. It's much less of a negative than it was during past console generations. The PS3 being a Blu-Ray player, as well, helped establish it as something an adult might own.

Of course I do. I don't advertise it to every person I meet, but if I see certain qualities in a person I'll probably let them know. I would like to think I have enough layers in my personality for people to look past that. They don't see me as a basement dwelling freak or anything. I tend to tell girls about my hobby as well. I have nothing to be ashamed of and I can't recall it being interpreted as a negative by anybody. Like partying, reading, socializing and 'experimenting' ... gaming is just another hobby.

Plus ... it's funny how girls I talk to often renounce videogames, but when they come over and play Rayman Origins with me they have a blast and their perception changes.

Okay I think in this day and age gaming has become mainstream enough for you to say I like gaming and most people would understand you to some extent. Even the dudebro guy will appreciate gaming can be fun like while playing Call Of Duty. So yeah I could talk to some random person about gaming.

But take something like anime for example which I watch quite a lot. I wouldn't normally bring that up as a hobby, not because I'm ashamed but rather because I know that the general consensus probably wouldn't get me if I said I liked anime.

So yeah it depends on who you are talking to really.

Unlike gaming, when I told people I watched anime they looked down on me. To them, especially girls, it was something for 'kids' - a cartoon. That always made me mad. -___- When I tried to expalin the difference to them they interpreted the scenario like a toy being compared to an action figure - no significant difference and still for kids. lulz